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Frank A. Douglass Insurance Agency

Accidents pile up on snowy roads

Yesterday afternoon, our Facebook page had photos and video from multiple crashes in Hancock and nearby Franklin Township. Whiteout conditions were wreaking havoc in Houghton as well. City Police Chief John Donnelly spoke at Wednesday night’s council meeting saying that for the first time, the storms from the past week were causing consistent problems.

Today has been a terrible day on the roads. From my experience, it’s not just always the day of the storm that all the accidents take place. Today, police radio has been going non-stop with accidents taking place. Not just with the City of Houghton, but all county-wide.

He warned that road conditions could continue through the weekend and urged motorists to be careful.

When the temperatures are ten degrees or less, salt doesn’t work on the roads. We get a mat and that’s when we get a significant amount of accidents. The road conditions, until these temperatures warm up, they’re going to be treacherous.

Manager Eric Waara mentioned that he had fielded phone calls claiming that snow plows had been turning around before finishing their routes. Waara said it is important to distinguish between plow trucks and sanding vehicles. The sand is meant to help provide traction and will only be applied on steep hills and other major roadways. That means you could see those vehicles turning around on your street without any applications. Plow trucks will not do that. Waara said he remains impressed by how well city crews maintain the streets. The City of Houghton is responsible for plowing roughly 35 miles of roadway during the winter.

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